Ohio, The Buckeye State, as it’s known, is the seventh-most populous state in the U.S. and happens to be the birthplace of some of the country’s most famous celebrities, some of whom might surprise you.
LeBron James is probably the most famous person known for being from Ohio but there are many other names who hail from there as well.
This list takes a look at five of them, including King James, of course.
Halle Berry
The actress was born to a British mother and African-American father in Cleveland and was named after Halle’s Department store, which served as one of the city’s landmarks back then. Born Maria Halle Berry, her parents had her name legally changed to Halle Maria Berry when she was five years old.
Halle kicked her career off as a model, participating in multiple beauty contests and being named the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant. She placed sixth in the Miss World contest in 1986 too.
The veteran actress got her breakthrough in the film industry with Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang in 1992, and roles in The Flintstones and Bulworth followed. Since then, Halle Berry has gone on to play major roles in several hit movies, including those from the X-Men series, Swordfish, and Monster’s Ball, for which she won an Academy Award.
LeBron James
The four-time NBA champion is closing in on one of the most prestigious honors in basketball as he looks to unseat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the man to score the most career points in league history. Kareem is none too pleased about that.
James was born in Akron, Ohio, and was a child prodigy who’s known fame since his early teens. Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, the forward spent seven seasons with the team before leaving for the Miami Heat, where he won his first two championships. He was back in Cleveland after his contract ran up in 2014 and led the Cavs to its first-ever NBA Championship in 2016. He left Cleveland a second time in 2018 and helped the Los Angeles Lakers to their 17th title in 2020.
The Cavs are keen on proving they can win without LeBron and look to have a team that can compete for a championship this season. We imagine a Caesar’s Ohio promo code would come in very handy for fans looking to back their team for a second title.
A four-time league MVP as well, LeBron has been the subject of the GOAT debate as he’s constantly being compared to Michael Jordan. As luck would have it, he’s the one who got to star in the Space Jam sequel.
Steph Curry
Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry was also born in Akron and is a four-time NBA Champion as well. Widely recognized as the greatest shooter in NBA history, there was very little hype surrounding Curry when he was drafted by the Warriors in 2009.
Curry has gone on to become the centerpiece of the most relevant dynasty in today’s NBA, leading his team to four championships.
The son of former NBA guard Dell Curry, Steph played for the Davidson Wildcats, where he was twice named conference player of the year. He set the single-season NCAA record for most threes made in a single season and has taken his sharpshooting to the pros, where he’s cemented himself as one of the greatest players to ever grace the hardwood.
Bow Wow
Shad Moss, known as Bow Wow, and, before that, Lil’ Bow Wow, is a rapper and actor who was discovered by Snoop Dogg and later signed to So So Def Recordings. A very popular artist in the early 2000s, he released his first album, Beware of Dog at the age of 13 in 2000 and dropped Doggy Bag a year later.
The Columbus-born rapper removed the “Lil’” from his name a few years later, before the release of his third album and, in 2002, made his film debut in All About the Benjamins. That cameo was followed up by leading roles in Like Mike, Johnson Family Vacation, and Roll Bounce. He also had a supporting role in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, one he reprised in F9 in 2021.
Moss appeared in five episodes of the Entourage television series and was a staple in CSI: Cyber, which ran for two seasons before it was canceled.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg is the most commercially successful film director of all time. He has won three Academy Awards and is one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Spielberg was named one of the 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine in 2013.
The director, producer, and screenwriter was born in Cincinnati but grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. He later moved to California, where he would study film in college. He has since become one of the industry’s biggest personalities and remains one of the most famous people in the world.